UK: FPC statement on the risks of crypto-assets

The Financial Policy Committee published a statement today covering, amongst other things, the risks of crypto-assets to UK financial stability: see here (pdf). To quote directly from the Committee's statement:

The Committee recognises the potential benefits of the technologies underlying crypto-assets and of their potential to create a more distributed and diverse payments system ... The FPC judges that existing crypto-assets do not currently pose a material risk to UK financial stability ... The FPC will act to ensure the core of the UK financial system remains resilient if linkages between crypto-assets and systemically important financial institutions or markets were to grow significantly. In the event that one or more crypto-assets were likely to become widely used for payments, or as an asset intended to store value, the FPC would require current financial stability standards to be applied to relevant payments and exchanges."